Many parents feed their infants dry, powered baby formula. At the time of use, it is necessary to mix the formula with water to produce a liquid which is consumed by infants using a baby bottle with a nipple. Once the dry formula and the water is mixed is must be consumed within a short period of time or must be refrigerated to avoid spoilage.
Therefore, parents and attendants can premix the formula with fluid in a baby bottle only if it is to be used within a short period of time. However, on many occasions parents and children may be away from a refrigerator or cooler for a long period of time and in this situation it is not safe to use premixed formula. Maintaining the mixed formula in a refrigerated or cool condition in an ice chest or other cooling device is not always practical.
Accordingly, many parents will carry a tote bag of some type in which various items for the care and feeding of the baby are contained, as for example diapers, toys, medications, dry formula and water.
When the infant is to be fed, the parent or attendant will open the container of dry formula and open a separate container of water. A quantity of water will be poured into the baby bottle and the dry formula measured using a measuring spoon in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. Once the formula and water are in the container, the cap and nipple are screwed onto the container and the container shaken until the contents are thoroughly mixed. This procedure can be cumbersome and require the parent or attendant to carry a supply of water and formula.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an infant feeding bottle which will separately store, mix and dispense the materials at the time of use.
In recognition of this problem, various devices or containers can be found in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,428 shows a reusable insert designed for off-the-shelf covered containers, such as an infant feeding bottle, having a storage compartment for powdered formula, a top opening to the compartment, a bottom opening to the compartment, a closure for closing the bottom portion and an actuator that is guided for vertical movement within the housing for operative engagement with the closure. The upper end of the actuator extends below the nipple which is attached to the infant feeding bottle so the user can apply downward pressure on the actuator to cause the closure to move from the closed position to an open position releasing the powder formula into the infant feeding bottle.
Other somewhat similar devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,794,802 and 5,634,714. These latter patents, as well as the '428 patent, are somewhat complex, difficult to clean and utilize a push rod to release formula from the upper chamber into the lower chamber in which the push rod is actuated by applying force to the nipple.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a storage, mixing and dispensing device for mixing a powder and fluids such as baby formula and water which will maintain the components separate until the time of use.
Further there exists the need for a device of this type which is easy to use, which has minimum components and is adaptable for use with most conventional infant feeding bottles in use today.